Going into the new season, one would expect Fox to be debuting a lineup of new shows distinguished by innovation and risk-taking. Why not?

It's a network built on those two qualities, it's No. 1 in adults 18-49, which stands as a huge affirmation of its willingness to push boundaries. It's also now headed by Peter Liguori, the man who built FX into a hugely innovative, risk-taking cable network.

The reality is that Fox's new shows are anything but innovative. There is no risk-taking.

There are five of them, three dramas and two comedies, and they are distinguished by how neatly they fit into the wilting old formulas of primetime, each a copycat of an existing show, either on Fox or another broadcast network.

At best, the dramas will be solid but unremarkable workhorses like the network’s other crime procedural, "Bones," and the comedies might work as space-fillers like the forgettable "The War at Home."

Here’s a look at the five shows, some of which have already premiered. So far the reviews have been mixed to negative, reflecting Fox’s drab development.

"Vanished"
After pioneering the serialized drama with "24," which follows one story over the course of the season, Fox is now serving up a tired imitation with "Vanished" (Mondays, 9 p.m.) "Vanished," which premiered Aug. 21, follows the search for a senator’s missing wife over the course of its season, as a straightforward procedural with grafted-on conspiracy elements.

But "Vanished" can’t seem to decide whether it’s a straightforward mystery, an intricate conspiracy thriller or a trashy soap, and it doesn’t do anything new with any of those individual elements. The result is something that feels cobbled together from other shows.

"Justice"
"Justice," which premiered Aug. 30, comes from super-producer Jerry Bruckheimer, best known for populating CBS’s schedule with procedurals like the "CSI" franchise, "Cold Case" and "Without a Trace." "Justice" is yet another crime procedural, this one told from the perspective of a high-profile law firm in Los Angeles.

But for all its fast cuts and headache-inducing visual style, it’s simply one more show that connects the dots in solving a crime. Like the forgotten 2004 summer Fox show "The Jury," it flashes back at the end to show viewers what really happened at the scene of the crime, but that isn’t enough to distinguish it from early Bruckheimer assembly-line productions.

The one difference is the breakneck pace and loud, in-your-face performances. They are meant to convey intensity but just come off as shrill. Victor Garber is so smarmy as the lead attorney that it makes it hard to care about whether the firm wins its case or not.

"Standoff"
The last new Fox drama, "Standoff," which premiered last night, is similarly uninspired, its manufactured sexual tension between the two leads (a pair of hostage negotiators) falling flat. Leads Ron Livingston and Rosemarie DeWitt lack romantic chemistry, and their banter feels tired from the beginning. Once again, we simply end up going from point A to point B in solving a crime. And the hostage-negotiation format means that the types of crimes will end up being very similar from week to week.

"Til Death"
The sitcoms are likewise unoriginal. "Til Death," which debuts tomorrow night and stars Brad Garrett and Joely Fisher as a long-married couple and Eddie Kaye Thomas and Kat Foster as newlyweds, is a throwback both in style (with its grating laugh track) and subject matter (with gender politics several decades old). Anything remotely funny has been beaten to death in countless sitcoms for decades. Its contrived setups and clichéd character moments are predictable and ring completely false.

"Happy Hour"
"Happy Hour," which debuts also tomorrow night and stars John Sloan as recent dumpee Henry Beckman, looks like something that would have been paired with "Married…With Children" and then canceled after four episodes. It’s trying way too hard to be hip, with forced sexual frankness and references to outdated fads like swing music. Co-star Beth Lacke all but screams her lines, as if saying them louder might possibly make them funnier. They are not, nor is the show.